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Railway Track

What is it?

This is a traditional drilling bit used in percussion drilling for many decades. It uses the very hard steel made for railway tracks which are generally relatively easy to find. The steel is ground whilst being kept cool by pouring water over it. The picture shows how the chisel can wear blunt over time, but this is at a slower pace than normal steel would wear.

Good Things

Relatively easy to find material

Hard and therefore will stay sharp for a long time if it is kept cool while shaping

Bad Things

Because of its shape it is not as heavy as a shaft of the same diameter and length

A little difficult to make because of the hard metal and the need to keep it cool